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General strike against neoliberal government: This is what Bolivia's highways look like at the moment, union members in each community take turns at the barricades. (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/unions@sh.itjust.works
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https://mstdn.ca/@dbattistella/116660102389947737

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[–] 14 points 5 months ago (5 children)

This is fascinating stuff and I'm so glad you shared this.

I did some more reading into this and it honestly sounds similar to the way the CIA backed the coupe in Chile.

The more you think about it the more it makes sense, resources is only one part of this equation but its a huge one. Lithium is critical for electric vehicle batteries, as the US slowly transitions to EVs, securing lithium supplies becomes strategically vital. A US aligned Bolivian government would preferentially sell to US companies at favorable rates rather than China, which is already aggressively buying lithium contracts.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

    God damn it why can't the CIA back a coup in America.

    Oh. Know what...never mind.

    But your point on resources is spot on. China has been busy colonizing places with lithium deposits and premium sand while we've been...ahem...liberating places that have big oil deposits.

    Worse yet, some of our best domestic lithium deposits are in preserved areas. And we still have a decent amount of crude in the ground (albeit, also a lot of it in preserved areas).

    And the crude and lithium that isnt in preserved areas....most of it will still have measurable impact on nearby protected areas just because of what's involved in transporting it and setting up the infrastructure.

    So yeah.... we're boned. America is pretty much married to oil at this point, until we decided to accept the sunk cost and bow to China...or start spreading democracy to some of these Chinese colonies. And we will probably continue to loosen environmental protections along the way.

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  • [+] -7 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    China isn’t colonizing anywhere, they are investing in local economies and creating good will that leads to favorable, but not exploitative, trade deals.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago*

    It's weird how the same people who talk about trade deficits as if they are a bad thing think that a trade deal that favors one side isn't the exact same thing.

    Following that logic, you would think that the only non-exploitive trade agreement is one that is as at least close to neutral, or at best mutually beneficial.

    But nah.

    Also, who told you they aren't colonizing anymore, or that the trade deals were "non-exploitive" or that they were "creating good will"?

    You realize that propaganda works both ways, yeah? There's no truth from anyone anymore. Everything from everyone is a piece agenda-laden propoganda. The powers make themselves look good just as much as they make others look bad.

    So the best you can do is try to look at things holistically and figure out what is real, what's an embellishment, and what's a downright lie. This means getting "facts" from multiple places and try to ignore all the emotional language that gets added in by the propogandists.

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